Court disputes to riots:A brief timeline of Babri Masjid-Ram temple dispute

Prime Minister Narendra Modi to lay the foundation stone for the construction of the Ram temple at the 'janmabhoomi' site today.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will lay the foundation stone for a Ram temple in Ayodhya on Wednesday, visiting a site where the Babri Masjid had been razed in 1992.

Here is a brief timeline of the Babri Masjid-Ram temple controversy over nearly 500 years:

1528: Babri Masjid built. Hindu groups say it was built after demolishing a temple, but some scholars say such "claims" did not arise until the 18th century

1885: Mahant Raghubar Das files a suit to build a Ram Temple at the disputed site

1934: A mob damages parts of the disputed structure. Muslim prayers at the mosque and Hindu worship at Ram-Chabutra and Kaushalya Rasoi continue

December 23, 1949: Lord Ram's idols are allegedly planted inside the central dome. Hindu and Muslims file court cases; site is locked. The government declares the area as disputed and locks gates.

December 17, 1959: Nirmohi Akhara, representing Hindus, files a suit seeking possession of the site and claims to be the custodian of the disputed land

December 18, 1961: The Sunni Central Board of Waqf, representing Muslims, files a suit claiming ownership of the site

1984: Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) launches a campaign for construction of a Ram temple at what it claims is the deity’s birthplace (janmabhoomi). 

1986: Lawyer Umesh Chandra Pandey appeals before district and sessions judge that the Ram Janmabhoomi gates be unlocked on the grounds that the Faizabad district administration, and not a court, had ordered its closure. Court orders the government to open the Ram Janmabhoomi for "darshan and pooja"

November 9, 1989: The Rajiv Gandhi government of the time permits VHP to lay the foundation of a Ram temple next to the Babri Masjid

September 25, 1990: BJP leader L K Advani launches a Rath Yatra from Somnath in Gujarat to Ayodhya

December 6, 1992: Hindu 'kar sevaks' demolish Babri Masjid, sparking riots across India in which 2,000 people are estimated to have been killed. Prime Minister P V Narasimha Rao's Congress government dismisses the BJP governments in UP, MP, Rajasthan and Himachal Pradesh.

April 2002: A three-judge Bench of the Allahabad High Court begins hearing a title suit on the disputed land

September 30, 2010: The Allahabad High Court rules that the disputed land should be divided into three parts. Opposing the judgment, Hindu and Muslim parties in dispute move the Supreme Court

May 30, 2017: Advani, BJP leaders Murli Manohar Joshi, Uma Bharti and Vinay Katiyar are charged with criminal conspiracy in the Babri demolition case

January 8, 2019: The Supreme Court sets up a five-judge Constitution Bench to hear the land dispute case.

August 6, 2019: The top court begins daily hearing in the case

November 9, 2019: The Supreme Court Bench led by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi unanimously rules that the disputed land be given to the Ram Janmabhoomi Nyas for the construction of a temple, and the Muslim side be compensated with five acres of land at a prominent place in Ayodhya to build a mosque.

February 15, 2020: Prime Minister Narendra Modi announces in the Lok Sabha that the government has given approval to a proposal for Shri Ramjanmabhoomi Tirtha Kshetra to construct Ram temple in Ayodhya.

February 18, 2020: A senior Supreme Court lawyer writes to the Ram temple trust on behalf of a group of Muslims in Ayodhya, asking that five acres of land around the demolished Babri Masjid, where a graveyard is situated, be spared for the sake of 'sanatan dharma'.

August 3, 2020: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath visits Ayodhya, ahead of the 'bhoomi pujan' for the Ram temple, and checks the preparations for the mega event.

August 5, 2020: Prime Minister Narendra Modi to lay the foundation stone for the construction of the Ram temple at the 'janmabhoomi' site.